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RIP Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens 1955
On Saturday, DiNizio posted a lengthy update on Facebook and assured fans that he was receiving "the best medical care and attention possible to fix the damage done to my neck and back in my recent falls". "It beats picking up garbage, like I used to do". He also attempted - unsuccessfully - to run for the New Jersey Senate in 2000, with his efforts forming the subject of documentary Mr Smithereen Goes To Washington . (more...)
Nina Simone, Bon Jovi Tapped For 2018 Rock N' Roll HOF Inductions
Our list count downs the 100 most overlooked acts that have been snubbed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee and the voters. Their greatest hits' compilation was certified platinum last month when it topped 1 million units sold. (more...)
Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle to spend Christmas with United Kingdom royals
The move is a break in tradition, with Royal partners previously having to wait until they are married before being allowed to spend Christmas with the Queen and the rest of the family in Norfolk. Typically, hundreds of well-wishers gather along the route to the church to catch a glimpse of the Queen and other royals. Last month, Queen Elizabeth's grandson, the fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, who stars in the US.TV legal drama "Suits", announced their engagement with the ... (more...)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review Roundup: What Do The Critics Think?
Kylo Ren, still licking his wounds from the last movie, says as much at least once. 'Star Wars': What Has Luke Skywalker Been Up To All This Time? By the end of The Force Awakens , those questions were answered. It leads to some of Luke's best moments in the entire series. Elsewhere, its humour can feel over-worked, even goofy; there are sight gags and one-liners, pratfalls and assorted bouts of clumsiness. (more...)
'Voice' semifinals pairs Chloe Kohanski with Noah Mac
Then Agen grabbed the second spot, followed by Simpson coming in third. This is the first time for Hudson to coach for The Voice , though earlier this year, she also had coaching duties on the United Kingdom version of the singing competition, in which her artist won. (more...)
Kissing competition held in Indian state to reduce divorce rates
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP ) has demanded the resignation of two Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLAs from the state assembly for reportedly organising a kissing competition for tribal couples during a fair in Pakur. Efforts are also being made to obtain the list of participants to check whether they were really married couples or not, he added. The average sex ratio of the village is 970, which is higher than the Jharkhand average of 948. (more...)
Roy Moore Spokesman Claims Lawmakers Must Swear On Christian Bible
Moore, who is besieged by allegations of sexual misconduct, has said in the past that he believes homosexual conduct should be illegal, that Muslims shouldn't be allowed to serve in public office and that events such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were divine retribution for increasing secularism and immorality in American society. (more...)
HOMELAND Season Seven To Premiere Sunday, February 11
The show bows on February 11th at 9 PM ET/PT on the premium cable network. The network announced that the show is now filming in Virginia. President Keen ( Elizabeth Marvel ) seems particularly paranoid (who can blame her?) and is putting her trust back into Saul ( Mandy Patinkin ). (more...)
Kevin Hart Admits He Felt Targeted After Extortion Scandal
Though she didn't seem to crack a smile, Parrish let her figure do the talking, flaunting her curves in a strapless La Perla ensemble with a Chanel purse. He quipped: "It's been very flattering. He'll literally sabotage it from the inside". The Doctor Who star defended her character's "child-sized clothes", saying , "I'd never take on a role that was truly gratuitous for no reason". (more...)
LAPD Opens New Investigation Into Roman Polanski
According to the Barnard, her mother took her to meet Polanski in 1975 in a beach in Malibu to do some modelling pictures. She's used social media to draw attention to her allegations. Polanski's lawyer Harland Braun called the claim "bogus" in a statement provided to dpa. Speaking to The News earlier this year, Geimer said she had forgaven the Oscar victor. (more...)
RA Set for Netflix Revival
Stevenson took to Twitter to confirm the exciting news, writing in two separate posts, "I'm showrunning a new She-Ra reboot for Dreamworks TV and Netflix!" The show followed the adventures of Princess Adora, who transforms into the super-powered warrior She-Ra using the Sword of Protection, as she helps the citizens of Etheria fight back against the villains who kidnapped and raised her. (more...)
Jada Pinkett Smith Slams The Golden Globes For No "Girls Trip" Nomination
One notable person in particular has some thoughts on the matter: Haddish's Girls Trip co-star, Jada Pinkett Smith , which she shared on social media today. She notes how The Big Sick Movie didn't even receive a nod and how Get Out was controversially considered a comedy saying it "illuminates the depths of the sunken place. (more...)
Gov. McAuliffe: Congress needs to act on CHIP program funding
John Kasich and Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper led the letter-writing effort. The House passed its funding package for CHIP in early November, which would draw funding for the program away from the Prevention and Public Health Fund. (more...)
Tristan Thompson Expected to Make Return Tomorrow vs. Hawks
Lue also disclosed power forward Kevin Love (left hip) will return to the starting lineup following a one-game absence and center Tristan Thompson will make his first appearance since November 1 after battling a left calf injury . Love missed Saturday's win over the 76ers with a sore left hip. It means Love stays at the 5 and Jae Crowder remains in the lineup. Lue said Thompson would be on a minute restriction, but he would not specify what that range would be. (more...)
Early praise for 'The Last Jedi' after elaborate premiere
While the latest films in the Star Wars franchise have featured strong performances and effective storytelling, the Golden Globes simply do not award the elements that differentiate Star Wars from many other films. Fans at the premiere were also treated to up-close looks at new characters, including an elite squad of guards clad in red armor as well as a collection of droids, including the droids C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8, who walked and rolled down the red carpet before the film's stars ... (more...)
Get a Deeper Look Into Marvel's "The Punisher" in Netflix's Featurette
Critical reaction was mixed, with season 1 rating as the second-lowest Marvel Netflix series on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic , but fan reception felt stronger than the critics' scores. The behind-the-scenes featurette focuses on the lead characters and how they came to be in the situations we find them in during season one. Losing his family to killers in the series, the incredibly well-armed Punisher takes few prisoners, if you know what I mean. (more...)
Mother of bully victim Keaton Jones, 11, faces backlash
Johnson and his classmate, Alyssa Vargas, said with the multitude of social media platforms, bullying happens on a daily basis. The tweet continued: " She believes in equality and doesn't want any harm done to ANYONE". Monday , MMA fighter, Joe Schilling, accused the child's mother of setting up a GoFundMe account for financial gain. Many found other ways to dramatize their sympathy: The actor Chris Evans invited Jones to join him at a movie premiere , and other celebrities made ... (more...)
Justin Bieber's Mom Opens Up About Selena Gomez
Even beyond her love for Selena, it's clear that Justin is growing up based on what Pattie said about him on his own, too - from church to life to better dealing with his fame, Justin is growing up. Justin recently wrote a sweet little note to his mom Pattie Mallette on Instagram: "Love you mom!" The source continued, " Justin canceled his tour to take care of his mental health and he wants to continue to focus on this". (more...)
Genome reveals secrets of Tasmanian tiger's extinction
Humans "without doubt" helped the thylacine disappear. But the thylacine's genome sequence revealed another interesting thing: Despite a 160-million-year separation between metatheria , the subbranch (or clade) to which mammals such as the Tasmanian tiger (and other marsupials) belong, and eutherian , the clade that spawned the more familiar placental mammals (including canines), from a purely physical standpoint, it would be hard to deny that thylacine bears a remarkable resemblance ... (more...)
Yes, that Netflix tweet is creepy - and raises serious privacy questions
Netflix didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the reaction to the tweet, which has been retweeted about 66,000 times and liked 259,000 times and has drawn 4,000 replies. It's not shocking that tech companies like Netflix and Amazon collect all sorts of sensitive data about you. As long as Netflix doesn't actually use that data to turn you into the product. (more...)
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Member Deans
Connect Leaders
Transform Programs
Sustain Change
Influence Policy
The Content of Thinking
The Science of Early Learning
Practice with Purpose
Year in review – and a look ahead to 2017
By: David Kallison
2016 was an interesting year to be sure. But here at Deans for Impact, we had a lot to be proud of: our involvement in the release of the new Title II regulations; the hiring of six new staff members, including Dean-in-Residence Cassandra Herring; the launch of our new website; the addition of two new member deans; work by member-led programs to implement The Science of Learning; and the release of our policy brief, From Chaos to Coherence.
But even with all we've accomplished over the past year, 2017 looks to be an even bigger year for us. Some highlights:
In July, we'll host the second cohort of Fellows for our education-preparation leadership experience, Impact Academy. It's sort of like the academy in X-Men, but it's not housed in a mansion. Superpowers are welcome, though. Sign up for more information here.
Tomorrow, we'll release our latest publication, Practice with Purpose: The Emerging Science of Teacher Expertise. Co-written by Peak author Anders Ericsson, Practice with Purpose explores how deliberate practice — practice that is purposeful and designed to maximize improvement — can be applied to teacher-preparation.
This March, we'll drive the 12 or so blocks from our office to the Austin Convention Center for the annual South by Southwest Edu conference. Our own Benjamin Riley will debate the National Center for Teacher Quality's Kate Walsh in what's sure to be an invigorating and exciting debate on whether we need less innovation in education. There will be buttals, rebuttals, and, if we're being honest, breakfast tacos.
And throughout 2017, our Dean-in-Residence Cassandra Herring will continue her work leading the formation of a national collaborative of educator-preparation programs at minority-serving institutions. Read more on that here.
We have lots of irons in the fire, pans in the oven, and kettles on the burners, so make sure you keep up with us throughout the year. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter!
David Kallison
Communications Associate
Keeping Learning Science Front and Center
The LbSD Network: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Improving instruction at scale in Illinois
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Controlled by technolgy
Controlled by technolgy (Example)
Name Instructor Course Date Controlled By Technology Technology is one a factor that has been seen to be affecting each and every sector or rather part of the world today. What makes it complex is the fact that it keeps on developing each and every day. Nearly all sectors of the world today are controlled by technology. Technology has made it easier for people to access everything they want in a much reliable way (Bartlett 5). For instance in the communication sector technology has been seen to impact significantly on the various communication gadgets as well as the modes of communication. Social media is one example of the impacts of technology on the modes of communication. Social media has turned the world today into a global village in the sense that it makes people connect with each other in a much easier way (Bartlett 9). This has made it it has also affected the way we relate to each other. All these have been explained above in the paper. This calls for introduction in an unspoken etiquette on the use of technological devices. The reasons explaining the need of the etiquette have been explained in the text above. Indeed technology has been seen to take control of the human population calling for the need of an etiquette providing a guideline for the use and this has been explained in this paper. Works Cited Bartlett Michelle E.; Bartlett James E. Journal of Educators Online v13 n2 p1-18 Jul 2016. (EJ1106731) Mekonnen Tigist. In: MERIT Working Papers 2017; United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) 2017. Language: English Database: RePEc Macer Tim; Wilson Sheila. International Journal of Market Research. 2017 Vol. 59 Issue 2 p173-198. 26p. 8 Charts 1 Graph. DOI: 10.2501/IJMR-2017-014. Database: Business Source Complete [...]
Although much technology has been invented to keep us more closely connected, could it also make us more alone? Is our obsession with documenting everything through photographs and videos preventing us from living in the moment? Should there be unspoken etiquette about when and how technology is used in social situations? Use specific reasons and examples to support a position.
Expert Marsha
Very good writer.


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Manchester bomb attack `hero` denies bank card and mobile phone theft
A homeless man has denied stealing from two injured victims moments after the Manchester Arena terror bomb attack.
A homeless man has denied stealing from two injured victims moments after the Manchester Arena terror bomb attack. Chris Parker – hailed a hero for helping people hurt in the atrocity – appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday (August 16). The 33-year-old was charged with two counts of theft of a bank card from injured woman Pauline Healey at the Arena on May 22. Mrs Healey, whose 14-year-old granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski was killed in the attack, was in a coma for several days but survived. Her daughter, Samantha, was also injured. He is also charged with theft of a mobile phone from a young girl who was also seriously injured in the bomb attack that killed 22 adults and children at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Reporting restrictions were put in place during the brief hearing to prohibit identifying the girl. Mr Parker. who gave an address in case bail was granted as Woodlands Road, Crumpsall, was remanded in custody. District Judge John Timperley said that powers of the magistrates' court were "wholly insufficient" to deal with the matter and the case will be heard at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, September 13. More than £50,000 was raised to help Mr Parker after he said he rushed to help the injured and dying.


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MP Elections
Bhopal News
Madhya Pradesh: Now, a book on IPS officer who failed in Class 12
Ramendra Singh | TNN | Updated: May 18, 2019, 9:04 IST
Manoj Kumar Sharma
BHOPAL: Failure in Class 12 exams, did not deter him from believing in his capabilities and he prepared for one of the toughest exams in the country, and went on to become the additional commissioner in Mumbai police. Meet IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, whose friend and deputy commissioner (sales tax) Anrug Pathak will be releasing a book titled '12th Fail' next week.
Hailing from a nondescript Bilgaon village in Joura tehsil of Morena district, Sharma said he did not bother much about marks in his school days. "Percentage in class can never be a parameter of success in life. I had cleared Class 10 exam in third division. Even in Class 11, I got second division," he said.
However, the 42-year-old IPS officer never allowed poor academic performance to become on obstacle in his journey. "I wanted to study further. I completed graduation and post-graduation from Gwalior. I am even a PhD holder," he said. He also started preparing for UPSC exam. It was not yet all smooth for him as he cleared the exams in his fourth attempt with AIR 121. He advised students not to let failure overpower them.
Anurag Pathak, the author of '12th Fail' book, said the objective behind this book is to help students who fear exam failures. "Manoj is the hero of my book. I have also mentioned a few others, who achieved success in different fields despite failure in exams," said Pathak.


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AULA Blog
Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, American University
All posts tagged Scioli
What Does Macri's Victory Mean for Latin America's Left Turns?
By Eric Hershberg and Fulton Armstrong
Photo Credits: Douglas Fernandes and _Butte_ / Flickr / Creative Commons
Argentine President-elect Mauricio Macri's actions since his historic victory last week indicate a rightward shift in domestic and foreign policy that some observers are tempted to proclaim as part of a broader Latin American trend. He has reiterated promises of broad economic reforms and appointed a cabinet – including former JP Morgan executive and ex-Central Bank chief Alfonso Prat-Gay as his finance minister – to implement them. He has further pledged to reverse outgoing President Fernández de Kirchner's protectionist trade policies. (During the campaign, advocates of unbound capitalism cheered when he named Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" as one of his favorite books.) Macri has named Susana Malcorra, a senior aide to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with strong diplomatic credentials, to be his foreign minister and, for starters, directed her to reverse policies he judged to coddle Venezuela. The President-elect, who takes office on December 10, is speaking with the confidence of a President elected with more than a 3-point margin over Kirchnerista candidate Daniel Scioli and with control over more than the 91 seats (one third of the total 257 seats) that his Cambiemos coalition won in the lower house of Congress. (His party is the first, however, to control simultaneously the Province of Buenos Aires, the City of Buenos Aires, and presidency.)
The temptation in some quarters to declare Macri's victory as the beginning of the end for Latin America's "Left Turns" is understandable but nonetheless premature. To be sure, the Argentine electoral results coincide with other major setbacks for various currents of the Latin American left: The Chavista project in Venezuela is crashing; Brazilian President Rousseff and her party are mired in a corruption morass and economic crisis whose combined effects may cut short her time in office; President Correa, facing a dire economic situation in Ecuador, is increasingly talking about abandoning efforts to run yet again in 2017. Chilean President Bachelet's low popularity and declining public support for the Vázquez government in Uruguay may be additional signs that the prospects for the "pink tide" are very much in doubt.
But in Argentina and beyond, the jury is still out. Through no action of its own, the South American left enjoyed the multiple benefits of the decade-long commodity boom that began in 2003. Just as its electoral successes did not indicate wholesale shifts to the left in the region – indeed political scientists have long questioned whether the evidence supports claims of a leftward shift in popular preferences – today's parallel crises may reflect the end of of the boom rather than a rejection of left-leaning governments. Many of the policies advanced by various currents of the "pink tide" may remain highly popular, even while they are no longer affordable. Another tempting explanation is that Latin Americans are rejecting leaders who they perceive as corrupt, irrespective of their placement on the left-right spectrum. In Argentina, notably, Macri hasn't rejected the Kirchneristas' redistributive agenda but has instead emphasized the confusing, corrupt way it has been pursued for the past 12 years. (Never before has an Argentine rightist portrayed eliminating poverty as a core priority.) It may well be that voters understand economic slowdowns and dysfunction as a product of corruption rather than the fallout from declines in historically high commodity prices.
Regardless of the underlying drivers of electoral change and public disillusion with incumbents, it's fair to ask if the left's current travails and the right's resurgence will open the way toward more accountable political leadership, whatever its ideological proclivities, or just signal an alternation of power. Like Macri in Argentina, a new cohort of Latin American leaders will have to prove that they are more than outsiders drawing on sentiment to throw out the incumbent rascals. The question is whether they pursue policies that make democracy more transparent, expand meaningful political participation, and sustain the social gains that have been achieved by the pink tide governments that now appear to be on the ropes.
by clalsstaff on December 2, 2015 • Permalink
Posted in Argentina
Tagged Argentina, Bachelet (Michelle), Brazil, Cambiemos, Capitalism, Chavismo, Chile, Corruption, Dilma Rousseff, Economy, Ecuador, Elections, Fernández de Kirchner (Cristina), Macri (Mauricio), Malcorra (Susana), Pink Tide, Prat-Gay (Alfonso), Scioli, Trade, Uruguay, Vázquez (Tabaré), Venezuela
Posted by clalsstaff on December 2, 2015
https://aulablog.net/2015/12/02/what-does-macris-victory-mean-for-latin-americas-left-turns/
Argentine-U.S. Relations: Things Can Only Get Better
By Federico Merke*
Argentine presidential candidate Mauricio Macri. Photo Credit: Nico Bovio and Guillermo Viana GCBA / Flickr / Creative Commons
Foreign policy remains largely uncharted territory as Mauricio Macri (Cambiemos) and Daniel Scioli (incumbent Peronist Frente para la Victoria) head into the presidential runoff on November 22, but they both are likely eager to get over Argentina's rough patch with the United States. Foreign policy has rarely been a big campaign issue, and this time there are probably reasons behind the silence. The mainstream Argentine media portray the candidates as representing two different political and economic stances on domestic policies, with only nuanced differences on foreign policy. Macri is seen as more friendly to the outside world in general and to the U.S. in particular, but he has been reluctant to play up his "anti-Bolivarian" views. Scioli has the same incentives as Macri to restart a dialogue with Washington, but he has not wanted to highlight this difference between himself and his party's standard bearer, outgoing President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK).
Argentina's relations with the U.S. are at a low point in which nothing really good or really bad takes place.
The impasse started early in CFK's administration. Just two days after her inauguration on December 10, 2007, U.S. federal prosecutors claimed that five foreign nationals in the so-called "suitcase scandal" were attempting to deliver funds to CFK's presidential campaign. The President maintained that the United States manufactured the scandal to punish her for maintaining close relations with then-President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
Washington was clearly irritated again in 2011 when Argentine authorities seized the cargo of a U.S. Air Force plane that was delivering supplies for an authorized police training program. Argentina's foreign minister accused the United States of smuggling weapons and "drugs" into the country. In 2013, CFK reached an agreement with Iran to set up a truth commission (which was never established) to investigate the bombings of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994 – alienating Jews in the U.S. and Argentina, but giving her a boost among her domestic constituency.
Terrorism, human rights, and nuclear proliferation have brought the two countries together, albeit with little publicity. But Venezuela, Cuba (the U.S. embargo), trade (tough license and import restrictions on both sides), and Iran have been divisive issues.
Because the twists and turns in the bilateral relationship have revolved around scandals, rhetoric, and domestic political maneuvering – not driven by either deep ideological differences or substantive material interests – CFK's successor will be free to shift gears. Thus, in a sense, it does not matter who wins on November 22; a new chapter will begin in Argentina-U.S. relations. Macri no doubt will be more enthusiastic than Scioli in declaring a new beginning, but the latter exhibits a pragmatic tone and intention to attract investment and promote trade, including by resolving the confrontation over "holdout debt" plaguing ties with the U.S. financial community. Both candidates are aware that the ongoing litigation in New York complicates access to international credit. Both also understand that the memorandum with Iran represented a major step backwards and thus will probably change course on this matter. Scioli and Macri exhibit contrasting styles and might look at the world through different lenses, but they both will have the opportunity – and probably the desire – to develop a more constructive relationship with the U.S.
*Federico Merke directs the Political Science and International Relations Programs at the Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires.
by clalsstaff on November 19, 2015 • Permalink
Tagged Argentina, Bilateral Relations, Elections, Fernández de Kirchner (Cristina), Macri (Mauricio), Scioli, Venezuela
Posted by clalsstaff on November 19, 2015
https://aulablog.net/2015/11/19/argentine-u-s-relations-things-can-only-get-better/
Argentina's Mid-term Elections: The Beginning of the End for Cristina?
By Santiago Anria and Federico Fuchs *
Cristina Fernández mural Photo credit: CateIncBA / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
Rising inflation, loss of confidence by the private sector, and lack of access to international credit markets make victory in Argentina's mid-term elections on October 27 especially important for President Cristina Fernández – or else she will face the prospect of two years as a lame duck. Her governing Front for Victory (FPV) faction of the Justicialist Party (PJ) seeks to protect its legislative majority. (Half the seats of the lower chamber and a third of those in the upper chamber are at stake.) Based on the results of the Open, Simultaneous and Obligatory Primaries (PASO) held on August 11, the FPV appears likely to lose some seats but still maintain a slight majority, considering that a number of the seats in dispute in the lower chamber correspond to districts in which it fared poorly in the 2009 elections. Before her unexpected surgery last week, Fernández had been central to the electoral campaign, hand-picking and endorsing Lomas de Zamora Mayor Martín Insaurralde as the first deputy on the FPV's list. According to some surveys, previous adjustments to her communications strategy increased her approval ratings, and with her recovery from surgery expected to take a month, there is speculation that the FPV may win some additional "sympathy" votes.
The PASO primaries showed that the FPV lost in key electoral districts, including the city of Buenos Aires, and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Mendoza, but that it continues to be the only political force with national reach. The opposition remains fragmented, but Sergio Massa, a former government ally and current mayor of Tigre (elected on the FPV ticket), has emerged as the key opponent in Buenos Aires province and as a likely presidential candidate for the 2015 elections. He may challenge Daniel Scioli, who is the current governor of Buenos Aires and is, at least until now, backed by Fernández as her potential successor despite resistance from some factions within the FPV). Massa's Frente Renovador still has limited territorial reach, but he enjoys the support of the mainstream media, a branch of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Church and, perhaps most importantly, a prominent group of mayors in Buenos Aires province. He is trying to capture a more centrist vote, promising the "end of confrontational politics" and focusing on what he claims are the "real issues" affecting Argentines – corruption, citizen security and crime prevention, and inflation.
The results of the upcoming elections will define the options for the Fernández administration. If the FPV fails to keep a solid majority in Congress, the issue of constitutional reform that would allow for reelection will be off the table, and Fernández will not be able to run for a third term. In policy terms, negative results will increase pressure for economic adjustment and pro-business policies. Fernández and her predecessor, deceased husband Néstor Kirchner, have both proven their capacity to revamp their administrations after electoral defeat by defying such pressures and raising the stakes. But with defeat in the polls, and with a diminished force in Congress, it will be harder for her to maintain party discipline as the prospects for 2015 grow bleaker. A lot also depends on how the opposition fares: a clear winner among them (most likely Massa) will become a clear challenger for 2015 and probably put even greater limits on any government strategy, whereas a still atomized opposition may give Fernández more leeway. The task ahead for the FPV will be to define and support a presidential candidate that can continue the Kirchnerista project. Performing well in the congressional elections will give Fernández more room to define this, or to at least block non-desired candidates. We may be witnessing the beginning of the end for Cristina, but it is not clear whether any of the opposition candidates can force her to steer the Kirchnerista project in a new direction. Not even the most plausible contender in the opposition (Massa) or the most likely successor in the FPV (Scioli) seems to have any meaningful change to offer. If both of them represent anything, it is Peronism's ability to adapt in adverse times to stay in power. But that is nothing new in the history of Peronism.
* Santiago Anria and Federico Fuchs are graduate students in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
by clalsstaff on October 15, 2013 • Permalink
Tagged Argentina, Catholic Church, Constitutional Reform, Corruption, Crime, Elections, Fernández de Kirchner (Cristina), Frente Renovador, Inflation, Insecurity, Peronismo, Public Opinion, Scioli
Posted by clalsstaff on October 15, 2013
https://aulablog.net/2013/10/15/argentinas-mid-term-elections-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-cristina/
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Lyons Funeral Home
Send Flowers for Christine
Mrs Christine W Banks
April 24, 1939 ~ December 20, 2021 (age 82)
Tribute & Services
Thomaston – Mrs. Christine (Warner) Banks, 82, passed away on Monday, December 20, at the Waterbury Hospital. She was the widow of Raymond E. Woods, Sr and Robert Banks.
Christine was born April 24, 1939 in Torrington, daughter of the late Lewis P. and Charlotte (Salmon) Warner, Sr. Raised in Thomaston she attended local schools and was a graduate of Thomaston High School. She had been employed for many years as a secretary in the guidance department of Thomaston High School. She will be remembered for her love of horses and her active involvement as a 4-H horse leader and a member of the American Quarter Horse Association.
The family greatly appreciates her care givers and all the love that was given to her.
She is survived by her children, Raymond Ernest Woods, Jr, Louanne Forrester and David L. Woods; her sister, Allie Bassett and six grandchildren and many nieces and nephews whom she adored. She was predeceased by her siblings, Shirley Hazelton, Mildred Edwards, Sally Anne Gladdyck, Robert A. Warner, Sr and Lewis P. Warner, Jr.
Calling hours will be held on Wednesday, December 29, from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. at the Lyons Funeral Home 46 High St. Thomaston. Burial in West cemetery will be private.
To send flowers to Christine's family, please visit our floral store.
Thomaston, CT 06787
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Mustafa Khalifa's 'The Shell' Latest Example of Literature Offering Insight of Syrian Ordeal
Forthcoming in Al Jadid
Al Jadid Staff
A mere glance at the most notorious prisons in the world, Assad's Tadmur moves to the forefront, ranking 2nd on a list of the 10 worst prisons. This is the prison which "hosted" Mustafa Khalifa, the author of "The Shell" for more than 13 years, and which Fawaz Azem reviews for the next issue of Al Jadid.
Read more about Mustafa Khalifa's 'The Shell' Latest Example of Literature Offering Insight of Syrian Ordeal
Who are 'Bad Girls'...And Who Says So? New Book Examines Women Who Transgress Social Norms in Today's Middle East
Nadia Yaqub and Rula Quawas' "Bad Girls of the Arab World" (University of Texas Press, 2017) records and analyzes the experiences of Arab women who transgress social norms, telling the stories of Arab women from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Egypt, the Maghreb, and the United States. In her review of the book for Al Jadid, Pamela Nice notes that the strongest chapters in this work "break free from the bonds of academic jargon and present women in their full flesh-and-blood selves."
Read more about Who are 'Bad Girls'...And Who Says So? New Book Examines Women Who Transgress Social Norms in Today's Middle East
Nostalgia for a Lost Damascus Leads Native Son into Danger in New Thriller
In his latest novel, "Sophia," Syrian-German author Rafik Schami takes readers on a journey from Beirut and Heidelberg to Rome and Damascus through the eyes of Salman, the son of Sophia, the novel's namesake, who is a beautiful Christian woman who had recently left her Muslim lover, Karim, to marry Yusuf Baladi, a rich Damascene Christian goldsmith. The story follows Salman's trail as he flees Syria to Lebanon after accidentally wounding a police officer in an armed revolt to topple the dictatorship.
Read more about Nostalgia for a Lost Damascus Leads Native Son into Danger in New Thriller
Experience as Essence: A Review of "Al Wallaah" by Syrian Novelist Hanna Mina
Fatme Sharafeddine Hassan
Al-Wallaah (The Flame that Lights the Way)
By Hanna Mina
Dar Al Adab, 1990
Hanna Mina wrote "Al-Wallaah" in 1989 and published it a year later (Beirut: Dar Al Adab). The major focus of the novel is the lesson that experience is the essence of life. The main character, Farah Al-Makhzumi, a naive and shy 17-year-old, learns this truth after a long struggle with himself and the people surrounding him.
Read more about Experience as Essence: A Review of "Al Wallaah" by Syrian Novelist Hanna Mina
New Book Examines Middle East 'Post Americana': Twilight of U.S. Cultural Influence
D.W. Aossey
After the American Century: The Ends of U. S. Culture in the Middle East
By Brian T. Edwards
Columbia University Press, 2015
It's been said that a single aspiration connects all Middle Eastern people; to eat at McDonalds and shop at Wal-Mart, just like everyone else. Exaggeration? Maybe. But the comparison captures an obvious truth: that American attitudes and ideals have been disproportionately popular in the region for decades. "After the American Century" by author Brian T. Edwards, on the other hand, offers the counterargument that technology has and will continue to change this paradigm.
Read more about New Book Examines Middle East 'Post Americana': Twilight of U.S. Cultural Influence
Prescient Book Calls Attention to Consequences of Sunni Diaspora
Lynne Rogers
Eclipse of the Sunnis, Power, Exile and Upheaval in the Middle East
By Deborah Amos
Public Affairs, 2010
Only four years after its publication and a drastically changed landscape, reading Deborah Amos' "Eclipse of the Sunnis, Power, Exile and Upheaval in the Middle East," will give readers a chilling sense of futility towards the impending signs of violence that politicians either conveniently overlooked or malevolently exaggerated to their advantage. With the American Occupation of Iraq, Amos, an award winning journalist, has set off to record the "the mass departure" of Iraqis to Damascus, Amman and Beirut. For each destination, she juxtaposes the political machinations behind the public rhetoric with a compilation of personal stories whose tragedies directly result from these power shifts.
Read more about Prescient Book Calls Attention to Consequences of Sunni Diaspora
Book Offers Oral Histories of Five Diverse Egyptian Men
Caroline Seymour-Jorn
Shahaama: Five Egyptian Men Tell Their Stories
By Nayra Atiya
Syracuse University Press, New York, 2016
Nayra Atiya has compiled a fascinating selection of the life stories of five Egyptian men belonging to a variety of sub-cultural, socio-economic and religious backgrounds. She conducted the interviews during the period from the late 1970s to the early 1980s with men who appear to have been born between the 1940s and the 1950s. Each life history provides details about the men's childhoods, educations and adult lives during the period from the early decades of the Republic through the early Mubarak period, with these oral histories reflecting a great deal about the many socio-economic and political changes that accompanied those decades.
Read more about Book Offers Oral Histories of Five Diverse Egyptian Men
The Western Connection: How the Romanticism of Gibran & Rihani Hooked Up With Naimy's Critical Realism to Engender a New Arab Literature
By Michael Najjar
Gibran, Rihani and Naimy: East-West Interactions in Early Twentieth-Century Arab Literature
By Aida Imangulieva, translated by Robin Thomson
Anqa Publishing, 2009
Aida Imangulieva's book "Gibran, Rihani & Naimy: East-West Interactions in Early Twentieth-Century Arab Literature" is a translation of the Russian version, which was published shortly before her death in 1992. It focuses on three of the most prominent members of what Imangulieva calls "the Syrio-American School," named after the then-Syrian immigrant writers who left their homeland (now Lebanon).
Read more about The Western Connection: How the Romanticism of Gibran & Rihani Hooked Up With Naimy's Critical Realism to Engender a New Arab Literature
'Egyptian-American': The Hyphenated Experience
Priscilla Wathington
Looking Both Ways
By Pauline Kaldas
Cune Press, 2017
Something about Pauline Kaldas' new memoir makes you feel both adrift and at home – sensations normally at war with each other. Yet, somehow, in her rounded phrases and softly imparted narratives, the elements of surprise and familiarity find balance in each other.
Composed of a string of personal essays, her history unfolds over many moments, rather than the narration of a single breath.
Read more about 'Egyptian-American': The Hyphenated Experience
'Traveling Scholar' Ella Shohat: The Contradictions and Challenges of Being an Arab Jew
As a public intellectual, Ella Shohat has found that her personal history profoundly informs her scholarship. Born in Israel to Iraqi parents who had migrated to that country after 1948, Shohat grew up in an Israeli culture that discriminated against Mizrahi Jews. Living a life of contradictions and tension as an "Arab-Jew" – a person of the Jewish religion whose culture and primary language are Arabic, she has found herself on countless occasions having to explain an identity that seemed like an oxymoron, an impossibility, to academics and others.
Read more about 'Traveling Scholar' Ella Shohat: The Contradictions and Challenges of Being an Arab Jew


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Dog Falco stun the audience with their impressive 'Footloose' routine on America's Got Talent.
Talented Dog And Trainer Perform 'Footloose' Routine On AGT
As a kid, Lukas never dreamed he'd be working and training a dog. "When I was a child, I was afraid of dogs. They terrified me and I know never ever will I accept a dog into our family. When I was fourteen, my worst nightmare became a reality. My family told me that we would get a dog."
His parents brought home Falco as a puppy and Lukas couldn't resist this adorable little guy. "At first, I didn't want to be his friend. But eventually, I just looked at his eyes and he was the first dog that won me over."
From that point on, the duo were inseparable. Lukas and Falco trained every single day and learned all kinds of tricks and skills.
For the past nine years, these two have competed all over the world and now they are auditioning for America's Got Talent. 22-year-old Lukas may be young, but he knows that the rigors of competing are growing tiresome for Falco as he ages.
After AGT, Falco will be retiring. But Lukas is determined to go out with a bang. Just watch as this duo performs an intricate agility routine set to the tune of 'Footloose.'
At the beginning, Falco even dons a cowboy hat. After the performance, all of the judges were in awe of the talent and skill displayed. Simon Cowell is open about his love for dogs and their trainers.
He said, "He has amazing personality, but also importantly, so do you." Howie Mandel described the routine as "Boot-scootin'-doggie." The pair easily earned four 'yes' votes and they will continue on in the competition.
HUGE Dog Learns To Walk Again So He Can Be With His Favorite Boy
Dog That Stayed at Owner's Side for 3 Days After He Died Needs New Home
The Dog Was Feeling Homesick Until This Little Boy Decided To Do This
Mama Dog Just Gave Birth To Her Puppies, Now Watch What Dad Is Going To Do
Dog beaten down to the bone, gets saved by loving mom just hours before euthanasia
Sweet Little Bird Runs To Eat With Two Puppy Siblings
Teacher Gets Fired For Giving Zeroes To Students Who Didn't Turn In Their Work
Kid encounters pregnant stingray, helps deliver its babies


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OBITUARY.
OBITUARY. Readers of FIRE AND WATER ENGINEERING will learn with much regret of the death of Warwick H. Payne, who for a number of years past represented the Eureka Fire Hose company in the sale of its fire hose throughout the Southern States, with headquarters at Atlanta, Ga. Mr. Payne died on the ninth instant, after an illness of several months. He was a native of Scottsboro, Ala., and was born thirty years ago. He came from one of the best known families in Alabama, and he was president of the Confederate Sons' association, and formerly secretary to General Joe Wheeler. Mr. Payne was educated at the University of Alabama, and graduated as a lawyer, bur, owing to ill health, was unable to follow his profession. He was also prominently connected with the Smithsonian Institution at Washington as expert on Indian exhibits.


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Making an impact, one taxpayer at a time
March 4, 2019 Making an impact, one taxpayer at a time
Open Crumb Nav
An annual tradition at Fisher and Ohio State, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program continues to make a positive difference in the lives of central Ohioans.
VITA connects accounting students at Fisher with low-income individuals and people with disabilities or limited English skills to provide them with free assistance in preparing tax returns. In 2018, 40 volunteers from Fisher helped prepare 175 tax returns, which garnered $265,000 in refunds for VITA clients.
Stephanie Paxton (BSBA '12), an analyst for the domestic tax group at Abercrombie & Fitch, returned to Fisher to serve as an alumni volunteer for the VITA program. Paxton shared her thoughts on the experience.
Stephanie Paxton (BSBA '12)
Why did you decide to volunteer for VITA?
"My time with VITA was so rewarding in the past that I wanted to continue to be involved. I love that this program exists to help taxpayers in the local community! By preparing their returns, I feel like I'm providing a valuable service and giving back.
What were your duties as part of this past year's event? I was a site manager, so I ensured that taxpayers each had a volunteer preparer to assist them with their returns, answered questions that arose during tax return preparation, prepared returns as needed, amended returns as needed, contacted taxpayers with IRS return rejection issues, and collected e-file paperwork."
How fulfilling is it to put your accounting education and experience to use in a volunteer capacity?
"I feel like I was making a real impact by using the knowledge gained from my education and experience to impact someone else's life. The taxpayers who receive help from VITA are generally very appreciative of the help."
What does it say to you that the VITA program has been a part of the accounting experience at Fisher for so long?
The seasons pass, the years will roll / Time and change will surely show / How firm thy friendship, Ohio!
"These aren't just words in "Carmen Ohio," but they also live on through Fisher's involvement with the Columbus community. Ohio State isn't just supporting its students and faculty year after year, it is also lending a helping hand to the community."
What would you say to other alumni who might be interested in helping out with VITA?
"The gratification of helping others through VITA is palpable. VITA brings together current students and working professionals to provide tax services that benefit the greater good of a community. Helping with VITA is a small time commitment (just a few weekends out of the spring tax season), but it creates a huge impact."
MORE ON THESE TOPICS
Alumni & Friends Profiles
Alumni interested in volunteering with Fisher's VITA program can contact Program Director Stephanie Lewis at lewis.1819@osu.edu.


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You are here:	Lexxion > State Aid Blogs > State Aid Uncovered > From Waste to Energy
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From Waste to Energy
21. February 2020 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides
State aid to incentivise the use of waste to produce energy must be individually notified.
Waste management is an increasingly important aspect of policies aiming to prevent environmental degradation and slow down climate change. As the market for recycling expands and waste management becomes more profitable, there is also a higher risk of harm to competition by State aid.
Article 47 of the GBER block exempts State aid for waste recycling and re-utilisation. The waste must be generated by third-parties. Recycling of own waste may not benefit from aid under Article 47.
Another related activity that is not block exempted is "waste to energy"; i.e. the use of waste as a source of energy. Therefore, State aid for "waste to energy" has to be notified to the European Commission for prior authorisation.
Recently, the Commission, in decision SA.55100, approved a Polish scheme for the construction of a combined heat and power plant [CHP] in Gdansk, that would absorb about 160,000 tonnes of municipal waste and would reduce the use of fossil fuels for the production of energy.[1]
The beneficiary of the aid is Port Czystej Energii [PCE] which is a limited liability company owned by the City of Gdańsk. The PCE was established for the purpose of implementing the project and will become the owner of the plant. However, the construction and operation will be achieved through a public-private-partnership [PPP] between the PCE and a private contractor which will be selected according to EU public procurement rules. The contractor will be remunerated for the construction works, maintenance and operation of the plant.
Form and amount of aid
The aid will be in the form of a non-reimbursable grant from EU structural funds and a capital injection from the City of Gdansk. The remaining part of financing will be from market sources.
More specifically, the EU grant will be PLN 270,696,804.83 [in nominal terms] or PLN 259,521,594.62 [in real (discounted) terms]. The equity injection of the City of Gdansk will be PLN 17,705,000. Therefore, the total investment aid for the project is PLN 277,226,594.62 or 60% of the discounted eligible costs.
Eligible costs
According to the Commission decision the "(22) eligible costs are calculated as the difference between the baseline scenario investment and the counterfactual scenario investment, the latter being the construction of a gas-fired boiler facility with an equivalent heat output to the proposed CHP plant. Estimates for the investment costs are derived from an independent study."
"(23) The total investment costs are estimated at PLN 506,907,108.00 out of which PLN 7,087,716.00 cannot be considered eligible for aid."
"(24) The Polish authorities estimate that the investment cost for the reference gas fired facility is PLN 10,350,000.00, i.e. PLN 230,000 per MW of thermal output."
"(25) Based on the cost estimations in recitals (23) and (24), the costs eligible for aid amount to PLN 489,469,391.00 nominal and PLN 472,394,324.00 discounted."
The costs are itemised in the following table [copied from p.5 of the Commission decision]:
The Commission observes that "(26) the required rate of return for investments in cogeneration of thermal waste conversion installations can vary between 7 and over 10% in real terms after tax, depending on the specific risks connected with a given investment and the structure of the financing. Poland also referred to an earlier State aid case concerning the construction of a biomass and waste CHP plant in Vilnius, whereby it was indicated that the rate of return on investment should not be lower than 9%, while for most investors the acceptable level of return on equity should be 17.55-18,55%. In the case of the Gdańsk installation, however, Poland assumed a much lower required return due to the fact that the City of Gdańsk is primarily interested in maintaining the lowest possible cost of managing the residual fraction of waste, and not maximizing the return on its capital."
"(27) Consequently, the business plan displays the internal rate of return ("IRR") of 1.43% in real terms, post-tax and the Net Present Value ("NPV") of – PLN 3.2 million."
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Existence of aid
Since the funding from the EU and the capital from the City of Gdansk were provided by public authorities which were not acting as private investors and that all the other criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU were satisfied, the Polish measure in favour of the PCE was State aid. [Paragraphs 32-36 of the decision]
The decision makes no mention of the private partner of the PCE. Presumably, the competitive selection procedure eliminates any advantage for it.
Compatibility of the aid
The aid clearly supports an objective of common interest. [Paragraphs 40-44]
There is a need for state intervention because according to the Commission "(46) undertakings do not have sufficient incentives to invest into expensive and complex projects such as waste-to-energy cogeneration installations and would, without public support, construct a heating plant fired with conventional fuels such as natural gas or hard coal. For this reason, public support is needed to attain environmental objectives. Moreover, PCE would not be in a position to cover investment and operational costs of the project merely through revenues from the sale of heat and electricity, and the fees paid by the citizens to treat municipal waste. To that end, Poland demonstrated that without support the project would not be profitable." This is correct, although it seems to be more of an explanation of the incentive effect of aid.
Indeed, with respect to the incentive effect of the aid, the Commission confirmed that the project did not start before the aid application, and that the PCE signed a contract with the contractor which was conditional on the approval of State aid by the Commission. [Paragraph 52] Conditional contracts are in line with recent case law on incentive effect. See the judgment of the Court of Justice in case C‑349/17, Eesti Pagar v Ettevõtluse Arendamise Sihtasutus. This judgment was reviewed on the blog on 26 March 2019.[2]
With respect to the incentive effect being manifest in a change in the behaviour of the beneficiary, the Commission noted that "(53) for the conclusion of financial profitability of an investment, two main financial performance indicators are calculated: i) the NPV of investments and ii) the IRR on investments. In the case when the project does not get financial support in the form of a direct grant, the Gdańsk CHP generates a negative NPV of PLN -203 million and an IRR of -0.32%. The Commission considers that the calculations submitted by the Polish authorities are consistent with market practices and accepts arguments that, given the levels of NPV and IRR, the investment at hand is not economically viable and without the aid the municipality would not carry out the project."
"(54) In addition, even with the aid, the Gdańsk CHP generates a negative NPV of -3.6 million and a low IRR of 1.43%. According to the Polish authorities, the project developers are ready to accept such low profitability because the aim of the project is not to maximise the returns but to maintain the lowest possible cost of managing the residual fraction of waste without excessive increase in the waste collections fees for the citizens."
There is no mention of the return expected by the private partner, how this very low profitability may impact on its operations and whether the low profitability for the City of Gdansk is the result of too high operating profit for the contractor.
The aid is found to be proportional. "(57) Poland submitted documents calculating eligible costs (those needed to achieve energy efficiency and environmental protection measures) based on the counterfactual scenario of a construction of a gas-fired boiler facility with an equivalent heat output (cf. recital (24) above). Against this counterfactual, the aid intensity will comply with the 60% threshold set out in EEAG for a CHP project in a NUTS level 2 region (cf. recital (28) above)."
The Environmental and Energy Aid Guidelines define an aid ceiling of 45% for district heating, which can be raised by 15 percentage points for Article 107(3)(a) regions.
Then the Commission repeats that "(58) as for the profitability, the Commission notes that the NPV of the project achieved with the aid is negative (- PLN 3.2 million) and the IRR of the project is low (1.43%) compared to normal market rates. The reason is that the City of Gdańsk accepts to undertake this investment in the light of the mission of managing the residual fraction of waste. It follows that the beneficiary is not likely to obtain excessive profits from the construction and operation of the aided project."
Possible negative effects
The Commission notes that "(61) paragraph 90 EEAG explains that the Commission considers that aid for environmental purposes will by its very nature tend to favour environmentally friendly products and technologies at the expense of other, more polluting ones. Moreover, the effect of the aid will in principle not be viewed as an undue distortion of competition since it is inherently linked to its very objective."
Moreover, "(63) as concerns the electricity market, the electric capacity of Gdańsk CHP will be 16.9 MW and electricity production approximately 123 GWh per year. Therefore, the installed capacity of Gdańsk CHP will account for only 0.04% of the installed capacity and the volume of electricity produced will account for only 0.075% of the total annual electricity production in Poland. The Commission concludes that Gdańsk CHP will therefore have no significant impact on the electricity generation and wholesale supply market."
The Commission found that the aid caused no excessive distortion of competition and therefore approved the aid.
[1] The full text of the decision can be accessed at:
https://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/cases1/201946/281724_2108081_150_2.pdf.
[2] View it here: http://stateaidhub.eu/blogs/stateaiduncovered/post/9468.
[Photo by Radowan Nakif Rehan on Unsplash]
Article 47 C-349/17 CHP combined heat and power EEAG Eesti Pagar environmental and energy aid guidelines GBER individual notification Port Czystej Energii PPP public private partnership recycling SA.55100 waste management waste-to-energy
Phedon Nicolaides
Dr. Nicolaides was educated in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. He has a PhD in Economics and a PhD in Law. He presently holds positions at the College of Europe and the University of Maastricht. He has published extensively on European integration, competition policy and State aid. He is also on the editorial boards of several journals. Dr. Nicolaides has organised seminars and workshops in many different Member States, and has acted as consultant to several public authorities.
State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides
Member States Beware: Compliance with the GBER and the SME Criteria has just Become more Difficult
I am grateful to Péter Staviczky for comments on an earlier draft of this article. I am solely responsible for its contents. The European Commission retains its sole right to assess the compatibility of aid granted on the basis of the GBER. Criteria defined in national law need not be taken into account by the Commission. The SME status has […]
2019 Competition Report
The Annual Competition Report is a useful document, but it should provide more information on the results of the ex post evaluations and ex post monitoring. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published COVID-19 measures, as of 10 July 2020: 202* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 20; Article 107(3)(b): 171; Article 107(3)(c): 17 Six Member States have implemented 11 […]
Guest State Aid Blog by Erika Szyszczak
When State Aid Gets Political
We are happy to receive a guest comment on the EU – UK post-Brexit trade negotiations from Professor Emerita, Erika Szyszczak, who is a Fellow of UKTPO at the University of Sussex. This is a longer version of an earlier Blog published on the UKTPO website. Control over State aid is a stumbling block for the future of an EU […]
i) Investor-State Arbitration ii) Recovery of Incompatible State Aid iii) State Aid Scoreboard 2019
Member States abolish bilateral investment treaties between themselves. When the Commission orders recovery of incompatible State aid, interest has to be added to the recoverable amount for the whole period of illegality regardless of any national limitation rules. In 2018, Member States granted EUR 121 billion to industry and services, EUR 6.3 billion to agriculture and EUR 50 billion to […]
Identification of Undertakings in Difficulty
A company is in difficulty if, in practice, its accumulated net losses exceed 50% of its subscribed capital, regardless of whether the subscribed capital is formally written down. The classification of a company as being in difficulty is independent of the sector in which it operates and of whether a private investor would be willing to invest in it. Temporary […]
Retroactive Application of the GBER
When an aid scheme is adjusted by limiting the eligible beneficiaries, it becomes "new" aid and must be notified to the Commission. The GBER can be applied retroactively to aid that was granted before it came into force. Introduction In July 2016, Dilly's Wellnesshotel wrote legal history for being the first undertaking to contest the application of the General […]
Risk Finance
Risk finance measures for the support for large enterprises or SMEs which operate for longer than seven years fall outside the GBER and must be notified individually to the Commission. Introduction Since the State aid modernisation and the new rules that were introduced in 2014, only a handful of risk finance measures [7-8?] have been notified to the European Commission […]
Enforcement of State Aid Rules by National Courts
Private enforcement has increased, but damages for illegal granting of State aid have been successfully claimed in just one case. Introduction According to the annual competition report that was published in July, Member States use the GBER to implement 96% of their new aid measures.[1] This impressive outcome should be seen in conjunction with the recent rulings of the Court […]
Presumed v Actual Compatibility of State aid with the Internal Market
State aid granted on the basis of the GBER may not be considered as authorised by the Commission. The task of Member States is to ensure that all of the requirements of the GBER are fulfilled. In particular, Member States must confirm the incentive effect of aid to large enterprises. Introduction[1] In March 2019, the Court of Justice delivered […]
Repayable Advances for Support of Research Projects
The amount of State aid in a repayable advance to support research projects is the difference between the return a private investor would demand and the actual return for the funding authority. Introduction According to the staff working paper accompanying the 2018 annual competition report that was published on 15 July 2019, 95% of all State aid measures supporting R&D […]
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Stuart in "Identification of Undertakings in Difficulty"
Phedon Nicolaides in "Non-recovery of Incompatible State aid Is Costly"
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Events > Family Events > C. R. Bryant Exhibits at Richard Boyd Art Gallery
C. R. Bryant Exhibits at Richard Boyd Art Gallery
Location: 15 Epps Street, Portland, Maine 04108, US
Join Richard Boyd Art Gallery in welcoming Maine artist C. R. (Bob) Bryant to the group of artists represented by the gallery in Southern Maine. Bob is a renowned maritime artist whose medium of choice is oil. He is a master of realism and well known for realistic depiction of water.
Bob's paintings are included in the permanent collection of the United Sates Coast Guard, numerous maritime museums, national and international corporations and private collections in Europe, Asia, the West Indies, and the Americas. He is a member of the Copley Society of Art Boston, the Copley Society Portrait Registry, and the Founder of PRIMA the Pacific Rim Institute of Marine Art.
Stop in Richard Boyd Art Gallery to see several of Bob's paintings on exhibit. For more information about Bob and his paintings contact the gallery by phone (207)-712-1097, email info@richardboydartgallery.com or visit the gallery's website www.richardboydartgallery.com .
Image of Vera Gloucester a 48″ x 36″ oil on panel painting by C. R. Bryant.


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Telltale Ceo Kevin Bruner Steps Down Remains On Board As We Transition
Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner Steps Down, Remains On the Board "As We Transition"
Published: March 18, 2017 12:22 PM
Telltale's Kevin Bruner has announced that he will be stepping down as the company's CEO. This news comes from a company-wide letter sent to all their employees, after which it ended up in the hands of the people over at Kotaku. This decision comes as somewhat as a surprise because Bruner took up the position in 2015, a mere 2 years ago.
Here's an excerpt of the email sent out to their employees:
Today I am writing to let you know that I'll be stepping away from my position as CEO of Telltale.
We've grown aggressively since Telltale's inception, and now Telltale is bigger than I ever dreamed it would be. There are many possible futures for Telltale, and all of them are exciting and uniquely challenging. The time has come to pass the reins to someone that can better drive Telltale to the next level and realize all the potential that is here.
While he is stepping down from the position immediately, Bruner will remain on the company's board "as we transition". Bruner, who was one of the founders of the company, leaves the day-to-day activities of the position in the hands of co-founder Dan Connors.
Head of Creative Communications Job Stauffer told Kotaku the following:
Kevin has led Telltale over the past couple of years after he stepped into the CEO role for co-founder Dan Connors in 2015. With Kevin departing, Telltale is fortunate to have Dan here to step back seamlessly into the CEO role.
The company recently appeared at PAX East, where they showed off a new trailer for their new game based on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. A recent rumor also states that Nintendo Switch versions of Batman and Guardians of the Galaxy might be in development.
What do you think of Bruner stepping down as CEO? Let us know in the comments!


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Columns,
Participants say Mexico's journalist-protection program ineffective
By Yucatan Times on November 23, 2017
In this Aug. 23, 2017 file photo, a boy looks into the coffin holding the body of Candido Rios Vazquez, a journalist who was murdered in Covarrubias,in Veracruz state. (PHOTO: Associated Press)
This analysis by the Associated Press explores failures of the program to prevent murders of threatened journalists who enroll in it…
MEXICO CITY — After years of threats and attacks that Candido Rios blamed on a local mayor furious over his reporting, Rios' home in Mexico's deadliest state for journalists was encircled by a fence topped with coils of barbed wire and surrounded by a half-dozen surveillance cameras he monitored on screens in the living room.
None of that mattered the afternoon that he stopped, just like every other day on his way home from work, at a highway gas station store that is also a community meeting place of sorts. As Rios was chatting with a local rancher, armed men abruptly pulled up and opened fire, killing them and a former police inspector who had just come over.
Rios, a hard-nosed crime reporter for Diario de Acayucan, had been in Mexico's federal protection program for journalists since 2013, its first full year. On Aug. 22 at the gas station in the Veracruz state town of Covarrubias, he became the first reporter enrolled to be slain, sending a chilling message to anyone else relying on the program to stay safe.
Journalists and activists say the killing made it abundantly clear that the Mexico City-based program known as "the Mechanism" is incapable of protecting the nearly 600 enrollees working nationwide. The program has a staff of only about 30 and it has no security forces of its own.
Protective measures boil down to such things as home security and panic buttons on cellphones, and reporters say that still leaves them dangerously exposed if they continue to work. They say seeking safety in exile or by hunkering down in safe spaces is no way to practice journalism.
"The measures they provided were effective for a time, but inside the home," said Cristina Rios Nieves, the slain journalist's daughter. "My father didn't work from home. His profession was to be outside the home working, walking, looking for stories."
Plagued by drug gangs and corrupt officials who are often in cahoots with cartels, Mexico has become one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists of nations not in open war. Nine reporters have been slain so far this year, and the free-speech activist group Articulo 19 counts more than 100 since 2000 in what observers call a full-blown crisis for freedom of expression.
The Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists was set up to try to stem the bloodshed. It evaluates threats to journalists and offers them help in the form of things like panic buttons, home fortification and, in rare cases, bodyguards. As a last resort, it will help them and their families relocate.
Rios, who covered crime just like most Mexican journalists who end up dead, had been under the Mechanism's protection longer than just about anyone. Based in a rural area of eastern Veracruz that is dominated by ranching and sugar cane farming, he ran afoul of a local mayor starting in 2001 for his reporting about the disappearance of a town councilman and the reporter's conclusion that the mayor was responsible.
That began what Rios described as years of harassment, beatings and detentions that he alleged were orchestrated by the former mayor of Hueyapan, Gaspar Gomez. Rios suffered broken ribs in one attack and walked with a cane.
To read complete article click here.
Source: apnews.com
journalist murdersjournalist protection programMexico


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Home Daily News Local Suppliers to Power Elio Motors' 84-mpg Vehicle
Local Suppliers to Power Elio Motors' 84-mpg Vehicle
Izzi Bendall
Production of the Elio — an enclosed, three-wheel vehicle that achieves 84 mpg — may take place in a former General Motors plant in Shreveport, La., but metro Detroit suppliers will have fingerprints all over it.
"Where the (components) are coming from matters to us," says Paul Elio, who founded Elio Motors in 2008. "We have 34 suppliers engaged. They're the who's who of the North American supply base, and I think all but two of them have a presence in southeast Michigan.
Among those suppliers are Comau and Lear Corp. in Southfield and Detroit Thermal Systems in Romulus. Altair Engineering in Troy, for instance, acts as Elio's engineering arm, says Cliff Boggs, vice president of business development for Altair ProductDesign.
"One of the unique parts of the Elio project is that Paul (Elio) is empowering the suppliers to be responsible for each one of their systems," Boggs says. "In a typical vehicle program, the OEM dictates the requirements. In our program, we're asking the supplier to tell us what the right requirements are. So this optimizes the cost model — we aren't spending money that we might if we dictated an overly aggressive requirement."
Altair, whose job is to make sure that all of the components come together and work as a system, has hosted supplier summits that every six to eight weeks, in preparation for the production, which is set for 2015, Boggs says. "All of the suppliers come together, and for three days, we just shut the doors and work on the interface issues. It's a very dynamic event."
The inclusion of Detroit and North American supplier is very important to Elio, who says that his company has three main objectives: "To reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create American jobs, and reduce emissions. Elio Motors does all three of those things in spades," he says.
Ultimately, the production of the Elio, which is priced at $6,800, will create a new vehicle segment, Elio says. "Technically, it's a motorcycle, but we have a lot of car-like features, like a steering wheel, air bags, and power locks. This is an 'and' vehicle, not and 'or' vehicle. I think the majority of the people that will buy (the Elio) will buy it in addition to their existing cars."
Earlier this month, the new automaker announced it had secured 10,000 reservations for the vehicle. Reservations, which range from $100 to $1,000, can be made at eliomotors.com.
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Chest Wall Kinematics Using Triangular Cosserat Point Elements in Healthy and Neuromuscular Subjects
Dana Solav ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-04011,2,
Henri Meric3,4,5,
M. B. Rubin1,
Didier Pradon5,
Frédéric Lofaso3,5 &
Alon Wolf1
Annals of Biomedical Engineering volume 45, pages1963–1973(2017)Cite this article
Optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) is a noninvasive method for assessing lung volume variations and the contributions of different anatomical compartments of the chest wall (CW) through measurements of the motion of markers attached to the CW surface. The present study proposes a new method for analyzing the local CW kinematics from OEP measurements based on the kinematics of triangular Cosserat point elements (TCPEs). 52 reflective markers were placed on the anterior CW to create a mesh of 78 triangles according to an anatomical model. Each triangle was characterized by a TCPE and its kinematics was described using four time-variant scalar TCPE parameters. The total CW volume (\(V_{\text{TCW}}\)) and the contributions of its six compartments were also estimated, using the same markers. The method was evaluated using measurements of ten healthy subjects, nine patients with Pompe disease, and ten patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), during spontaneous breathing (SB) and vital capacity maneuvers (VC) in the supine position. TCPE parameters and compartmental volumes were compared with \(V_{\text{TCW}}\) by computing the phase angles \(\theta\) (for SB) and the correlation r (for VC) between them. Analysis of \(\theta\) and r of the outward translation parameter \(P_{\text{T}}\) of each TCPE revealed that for healthy subjects it provided similar results to those obtained by compartmental volumes, whereas for the neuromuscular patients the TCPE method was capable of detecting local asynchronous and paradoxical movements also in cases where they were undistinguished by volumes. Therefore, the TCPE approach provides additional information to OEP that may enhance its clinical evaluation capabilities.
Aliverti, A., R. L. Dellacà, and A. Pedotti. Transfer impedance of the respiratory system by forced oscillation technique and optoelectronic plethysmography. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 29:71–82, 2001.
Aliverti, A., R. L. Dellacà, P. Pelosi, D. Chiumello, L. Gattinoni, and A. Pedotti. Compartmental analysis of breathing in the supine and prone positions by optoelectronic plethysmography. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 29:60–70, 2001.
Aliverti, A., R. Dellacà, P. Pelosi, D. Chiumello, A. Pedotti, and L. Gattinoni. Optoelectronic plethysmography in intensive care patients. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 161:1546–1552, 2000.
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Boudarham, J., D. Pradon, H. Prigent, I. Vaugier, F. Barbot, N. Letilly, L. Falaize, D. Orlikowski, M. Petitjean, and F. Lofaso. Optoelectronic vital capacity measurement for restrictive diseases. Respir. Care 58:633–638, 2013.
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Dana Solav was partially supported by the Aharon and Ephraim Katzir Study Grant of the Batsheva de Rothschild Fund. MB Rubin was partially supported by his Gerard Swope Chair in Mechanics.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, 32000, Haifa, Israel
Dana Solav
, M. B. Rubin
& Alon Wolf
Center for Extreme Bionics, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
Inserm U 1179, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 92380, Garches, France
Henri Meric
& Frédéric Lofaso
UPVD Département STAPS, 66120, Font-Romeu, France
CIC 1429Inserm-APHP, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, 92380, Garches, France
, Didier Pradon
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Correspondence to Dana Solav.
Associate Editor Merryn Tawhai oversaw the review of this article.
Supplementary material 4 (MP4 7382 kb)
Supplementary material 1 (TIFF 3618 kb)
Supplementary material 3 (PDF 33 kb)
The present configuration of a given TCPE is denoted by the position vectors \(\{ \varvec{x}_{1} ,\varvec{x}_{2} ,\varvec{x}_{3} \}\) of its vertices. The values of these position vectors in the reference configuration are denoted by \(\{ \varvec{X}_{1} ,\varvec{X}_{2} ,\varvec{X}_{3} \}\), with \(\varvec{X}_{i} = \varvec{x}_{i} (t = t_{0} ){ ; }i = 1,2,3\). Furthermore, the centroids of the TCPE \(\left\{ {\bar{\varvec{X}},\bar{\varvec{x}}\,} \right\}\) in its reference and present configurations, respectively, and the translation vector \(\bar{\varvec{t}}\) between these two configurations are given by
$$\bar{\varvec{X}} = \frac{1}{3}\left( {\varvec{X}_{1} + \varvec{X}_{2} + \varvec{X}_{3} } \right),\,\,\,\bar{\varvec{x}} = \frac{1}{3}\left( {\varvec{x}_{1} + \varvec{x}_{2} + \varvec{x}_{3} } \right),\,\,\,\bar{\varvec{t}} = \bar{\varvec{x}} - \bar{\varvec{X}}.$$
Moreover, the reference and present configurations are characterized by the director vectors \(\{ \varvec{D}_{1} ,\varvec{D}_{2} \varvec{,D}_{3} \}\) and \(\{ \varvec{d}_{1} ,\varvec{d}_{2} \varvec{,d}_{3} \}\), respectively, with \(\varvec{D}_{3}\) and \(\varvec{d}_{3}\) being unit vectors normal to the plane of the TCPE, and \(A\) being the TCPE's reference area.
$$\begin{aligned} \varvec{d}_{1} = \varvec{x}_{2} - \varvec{x}_{1} , { }\,\varvec{d}_{2} = \varvec{x}_{3} - \varvec{x}_{1} ,\, \, \varvec{d}_{3} = \frac{{\varvec{d}_{1} \times \varvec{d}_{2} }}{{\left| {\varvec{d}_{1} \times \varvec{d}_{2} } \right|}} \hfill \\ \varvec{D}_{i} = \varvec{d}_{\varvec{i}} (t = t_{0} );\,\,\,i = 1,2,3 \hfill \\ \varvec{D}_{1} \times \varvec{D}_{2} \cdot \varvec{D}_{3} = 2A\,. \hfill \\ \end{aligned}$$
The vertices and director vectors of each TCPE are ordered such that for each TCPE the director vector \(\varvec{d}_{3}\) points outwards from the CW surface. Then, the reference reciprocal vectors \(\{ \varvec{D}^{1} ,\varvec{D}^{2} \varvec{,D}^{3} \}\) are defined by
$$\varvec{D}^{1} = \frac{1}{2A}(\varvec{D}_{2} \times \varvec{D}_{3} );\,\,\,\varvec{D}^{2} = \frac{1}{2A}(\varvec{D}_{3} \times \varvec{D}_{1} );\,\,\,\varvec{D}^{3} = \frac{1}{2A}(\varvec{D}_{1} \times \varvec{D}_{2} ) = \varvec{D}_{3} \,,$$
such that \(\varvec{D}^{i} \cdot \varvec{D}_{j} = \delta_{j}^{i}\), where \(\delta_{j}^{i}\) is the Kronecker delta symbol. In addition, the deformation gradient tensor \(\varvec{F}\) of the TCPE is defined by
$$\varvec{F} = \, \sum\limits_{i = 1}^{3} {} \varvec{d}_{i} \otimes \varvec{D}^{i} { ,}$$
where \(\otimes\) is the tensor product (outer product) operator.
It follows that the transformation of each TCPE from its reference configuration to a present configuration can be described by a translation vector \(\bar{\varvec{t}}\) of the TCPE's centroid, and the deformation gradient tensor \(\varvec{F}\), such that each point in the TCPE is transformed by
$$\varvec{x}_{i} = \bar{\varvec{X}} + \bar{\varvec{t}} + \varvec{F}\left( {\varvec{X}_{i} - \bar{\varvec{X}}} \right)\,.$$
The translation vector \(\bar{\varvec{t}}\) of the TCPE's centroid and the unit vector \(\varvec{d}_{3}\) normal to the TCPE plane are used to define a scalar parameter \(P_{T}\) describing the outward normal translation of the TCPE.
$$P_{T} = \bar{\varvec{t}} \cdot \varvec{d}_{3} \,.$$
Furthermore, the deformation gradient \(\varvec{F}\) is decomposed using the polar decomposition theorem22 to determine the unique proper orthogonal rotation tensor \(\varvec{R}\) and the unique positive definite symmetric stretch tensor \(\varvec{N}\) by
$$\begin{aligned} \varvec{F} = \varvec{NR}{ ; [}\varvec{R}_{{}}^{T} \varvec{R} = \varvec{I} , { }\det \left( \varvec{R} \right) = 1 , { }\varvec{N}_{{}}^{T} = \varvec{N}] \hfill \\ \varvec{B} = \varvec{FF}^{T} = \varvec{NR}\left( {\varvec{NR}} \right)^{T} = \varvec{NRR}^{T} \varvec{N}^{T} = \varvec{NN}^{T} \Rightarrow \varvec{N} = \varvec{B}^{1/2} \hfill \\ \varvec{R} = \varvec{N}^{ - 1} \varvec{F} = \left( {\varvec{FF}^{T} } \right)^{ - 1/2} \varvec{F}\,. \hfill \\ \end{aligned}$$
Then, \(\varvec{R}\) is used to define a scalar parameter \(P_{R}\) describing the TCPE rotation angle.31
$$P_{\text{R}} = \cos^{ - 1} \left[ {\frac{{{\text{trace}}(\varvec{R}) - 1}}{2}} \right].$$
Since the deformations of the TCPE are two-dimensional it follows that the left Cauchy-Green deformation tensor \(\varvec{B}\) has the spectral form
$$\varvec{B} = \varvec{FF}^{T} = \lambda_{1}^{2} \varvec{p}_{1} \otimes \varvec{p}_{1} + \lambda_{2}^{2} \varvec{p}_{2} \otimes \varvec{p}_{2} + \varvec{d}_{3} \otimes \varvec{d}_{3} ,$$
where \(\left\{ {\varvec{p}_{1} ,\varvec{p}_{2} } \right\}\) are orthogonal unit eigenvectors in the plane of the TCPE. Furthermore, it follows that the dilatation \(J\) is given by
$$J = \det (\varvec{F}) = \sqrt {\det (\varvec{B})} = \lambda_{1} \lambda_{2} = a/A,$$
where \(a\) is the TCPE's present area and \(A\) is the reference area, such that a scalar parameter \(P_{\text{A}}\) describing the area change is given by
$$P_{\text{A}} = J - 1.$$
Moreover, it follows from (10) and (11) that
$${\text{trace}}(\varvec{B}) - 1 = \lambda_{1}^{2} + \lambda_{2}^{2} = \lambda_{1} \lambda_{2} \left( {\frac{{\lambda_{1} }}{{\lambda_{2} }} + \frac{{\lambda_{2} }}{{\lambda_{1} }}} \right) = J\left( {\lambda^{2} + \frac{1}{{\lambda^{2} }}} \right).$$
where \(\lambda^{2} = {{\lambda_{1} } \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\lambda_{1} } {\lambda_{2} }}} \right. \kern-0pt} {\lambda_{2} }}\). Using this expression, the scalar parameter \(P_{\text{S}}\) describing the distortional deformation (shape change with no area change) is defined by
$$P_{\text{S}} = J^{ - 1} \left[ {{\text{trace}}(\varvec{B}) - 1} \right] - 2 = \lambda^{2} + \frac{1}{{\lambda^{2} }} - 2.$$
It is noted that the parameters \(\left\{ {P_{\text{R}} ,P_{\text{S}} } \right\}\) are positive definite, while \(\left\{ {P_{\text{T}} ,P_{\text{A}} } \right\}\) can have positive or negative values. Moreover, it should be noted that all four TCPE parameters are independent on the size of the TCPE.
Solav, D., Meric, H., Rubin, M.B. et al. Chest Wall Kinematics Using Triangular Cosserat Point Elements in Healthy and Neuromuscular Subjects. Ann Biomed Eng 45, 1963–1973 (2017) doi:10.1007/s10439-017-1840-6
Issue Date: August 2017
Breathing pattern
Chest wall kinematics
Neuromuscular disorder
Optoelectronic plethysmography
Respiratory motion